No one was at the U.S. desk when the tieless tyrant accused foreign forces of spreading "aggression, terror and intimidation" in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Advertisement

Israel was nowhere to be seen when the loopy leader - who recently repeated his taunt that the Holocaust is "a lie" - inveighed against the Jewish state's "racist ambitions" toward Palestinians.

France and Canada added to the parade of nations that chose to get up and leave rather than listen to the delusional diatribe.

Those who stayed had to all but stifle their laughter when Ahmadinejad heralded Iran's recent "glorious and fully democratic election" - a contest that sparked massive street protests, which ended only after Ahmadinejad's thugs brutally beat and killed opponents.

Outside UN headquarters, hundreds of Iranians picketed the Iranian strongman for much of the day.

"He is not our voice. He is not our representative. We want him out of the UN," said Masomeh Ataey, 52, who traveled from Virginia to join hundreds of flag-waving protesters at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza.

Ahmadinejad insisted his country is ready to shake all hands "that are honestly extended to us," which seemed to be an odd reversal on his comment Tuesday that he'd "cut off the hands" of any who dared to challenge the Islamic regime.

What he never mentioned was what everyone else wanted to hear about - Iran's nuclear enrichment program, an initiative the West is convinced is an ill-disguised drive to acquire nuclear weapons. Many fear Iran is driving the world toward its most dangerous nuclear standoff in decades.

Ahmadinejad has insisted that Iran wants nuclear power for peaceful purposes only, but few are trusting of a man who has long called for wiping Israel "off the map."

For much of the day, the diplomatic noose around Ahmadinejad and his nuclear ambitions tightened.

President Obama, in his speech before the General Assembly, said the pursuit of nuclear weapons by Iran and North Korea would not be tolerated. "We must insist that the future does not belong to fear," he said.

As he spoke, Ahmadinejad sat quietly at Iran's desk, never joining the rest of the world community in applause.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy later added his voice, warning that Iran was making a "tragic mistake" if it was counting on a weak international response to its nuclear scare tactics.

But the capper was Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who, after meeting with Obama, opened the door for the first time to tougher economic sanctions if nuclear talks scheduled for next week between Iran and six major powers bear no fruit.

Advertisement

"In some cases, sanctions are inevitable," said the Russian president, whose nation has long maintained strong economic ties with Iran. "We believe we need to help Iran to take a right decision."

Medvedev's pivot toward possibly accepting sanctions came a week after Obama scaled back a Bush-era missile shield in Eastern Europe, a move the U.S. hoped would pave the way for the Russians to reciprocate on Iran.